Although the bruising on his face had begun to fade, it was still a far cry from “normal.” The swelling around his left eye had subsided enough for him to open it fully, but a dark ring of bruising remained starkly visible.
His nose was still slightly crooked, and the cut on his lip had formed a dark red scab.
If he walked out looking like this, let alone trying to sell gold, he would probably summon the security guards the moment he set foot near a jewelry store.
“Damn, medical treatment is expensive…”
Luke stared at his mobile banking app’s balance, which had shrunk yet again, and winced in pain at the loss.
Fortunately, he had medical insurance to cover the bulk of it.
Otherwise, a full-body checkup plus a mountain of medicine would have easily run him several thousand yuan.
But even so, he had still ended up paying two thousand out of pocket.
Two thousand yuan!
Do you know how much “starting supplies” that could have bought him on Pinxixi?
He owed eight thousand on Huabei, and his credit card installments added up to another twelve thousand…
Having worked for two years after graduation, he hadn’t saved a dime and had instead racked up twenty thousand yuan in debt.
Tch, tch, tch.
The number was like a thorn, festering in his heart.
Who was to blame?
The bad economy?
Society…?
When it came down to it, was it just that he was incompetent and couldn’t win the rat race?
That was what he said to save face in front of others.
When he was alone—or when the censors weren’t watching—he would curse: *Damn capitalists, they should all be chopped up and fed to the dogs…
“Overpopulation” my ass…
Screw the “too many people, too few resources” excuse!*
He took a deep breath…
He swiped his screen and sent four thousand yuan to his father via WeChat.
His account balance instantly plummeted to just over seven thousand.
Though, truth be told, this was still more money than he had possessed at any other point in his life…
Just as he was frowning, weighing whether to pay off some of his minimum credit card balance first or use the remaining funds to purchase another batch of more practical supplies for the other world, his screen lit up and began to buzz.
It was a WeChat video call request from his father.
Luke’s heart skipped a beat.
His finger hovered over the screen before recoiling as if it had been burned.
A video call?
How could he possibly answer a video call looking like a monster?!
His bruised, swollen face, his crooked nose, his split lip…
Any close-up shot would give his old father on the other end of the line a heart attack.
He could already picture his father’s shock, the barrage of questions, and the subsequent, completely unexplainable trouble that would follow.
He couldn’t pick up.
Without hesitation, he swiped his thumb upward, rejecting the video request.
Almost instantly, he tapped the voice call icon and dialed back.
The call was picked up almost immediately.
“Hello?
Luke?”
His father Lu Dashan’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a trace of faint, hard-to-detect worry.
“Why didn’t you answer the video call?
Are you busy?”
“No, Dad, I was just in the bathroom, so it wasn’t convenient for a video call.
What’s up?”
Luke cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound normal, even a little upbeat.
The other end fell silent for two seconds.
When Lu Dashan spoke again, his voice was lower.
“Nothing much, just…
checking on you.
Your mom said you haven’t called home in over a month, and when we call you, sometimes you don’t pick up.
Are you…
in some kind of trouble again?”
Luke felt a sudden lump in his throat.
His father was always like this—a man of few words, but he always managed to strike exactly where Luke was trying to hide his struggles.
He remembered when he lost his job last time; he hadn’t contacted home for a long time either.
His father had wired him some money without asking a single question, only saying, “Take this for now.”
“Dad…”
He opened his mouth, his throat tightening.
Even the wounds on his face seemed to throb with a dull ache.
He wanted to say he was fine, that everything was great, and that the money he had just transferred home was proof of it.
But the cautious testing and deep-seated worry in his father’s voice kept that breezy “I’m fine” lodged in his throat, unable to escape.
He couldn’t let his parents keep worrying and guessing like this.
Perhaps a “white lie”—a story that would put his parents’ minds at ease without dragging in any unexplainable truths—was his only option right now.
He took a deep breath, adjusting his tone.
He tried to make his voice sound calm, carrying a hint of weariness and confidence that he’d never had before—the voice of an “entrepreneur.”
“Dad, I did run into some trouble.
But now…
it’s mostly behind me.”
He paused, as if making up his mind.
“Actually, the reason I didn’t come home for New Year’s last year, and why I haven’t been in touch much lately, wasn’t just because I was busy with work…
I’ve been trying to start something of my own.”
“Ah?
Start what?” Lu Dashan’s voice rose, confusion mixed with tension.
“A business,” Luke said.
His heart rate spiked slightly, but he kept his tone steady.
“I started a small company with…
with a college classmate.
We’re doing…
well, international trade and information consulting.”
He made it up on the fly, keeping the details as vague as possible.
“A while ago, the company ran into some issues.
Our cash flow was really tight, and I was completely overwhelmed.
I didn’t want to worry you guys, so I didn’t say anything.”
“You foolish boy!”
Lu Dashan’s voice carried a hint of scolding, but it was mostly filled with worry.
“How could you keep something so big from us?
If you were short on money, why didn’t you ask?
How much did you lose?
Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Dad.
I’m completely fine.
And what money did I even have to lose…”
Luke spoke quickly, touching his aching cheek and smiling bitterly to himself.
“It’s just…
the money I invested earlier almost went down the drain.
But we got lucky recently and closed a deal, so we’ve pulled through and even made a small profit.
That’s why I…
sent you those four thousand just now.
It’s not much, but please take it.”
On the other end of the line, Lu Dashan fell silent.
This silence lasted longer than before.
It was so quiet that Luke could hear his father’s heavy breathing through the receiver, along with the faint murmur of his father’s coworkers in the background.
“Luke, tell me the truth.
What are you really doing?”
After a long while, Lu Dashan’s voice rang out again.
It was lower than before, but it carried a weight that made Luke’s heart tremble.
“Are you…
are you doing something illegal?
If you’re really short on cash, I can swallow my pride and ask your uncles and aunts.
We have a big family; if we pool our money, we can get through this.
You must never do anything against the law!”
Luke’s eyes welled with tears once more.
His father would rather beg others for money than believe his son had gone astray, yet he couldn’t hold back his deepest anxieties.
“No!
Dad, I swear I’m not!”
He said resolutely, his voice shaking slightly with emotion.
“It’s a completely legitimate business.
Maybe…
maybe our methods are a bit unconventional and the path is new, but it’s absolutely legal!
It’s just incredibly difficult and exhausting in the early stages.
Dad, you have to believe me!”
“Then what kind of business is it exactly?
How much can you make in a month?
Is it stable?” Lu Dashan pressed, clearly unable to rest easy without knowing.
“This…
the details are complicated.
It involves some…
well, relatively new business models and resources.
I can’t explain it all in a few words.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
Luke pushed ahead with his lie.
“But the direction is definitely right.
Dad, just give me a little more time.
Not even a year—at most…
at most half a year, or even three months!
I promise, once the company gets on the right track and business takes off, making hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan a month won’t be a problem!”
He practically ground his teeth as he uttered those figures, both to paint a bright picture for his father and to set a nearly insane goal for himself.
The Gold Dragons of Westeros, the debts of Blue Star, his parents’ expectations…
All the pressure converged into this single deadline.
“By then, you and Mom will be completely free!
I’ll pay off the mortgage on the house in town myself!
If my sister and brother-in-law want, they won’t have to work so hard at their jobs either.
I’ll take care of it!”
“No one in our family is going to have to work a damn job!”
His voice cracked, but it was exceptionally firm.
“Dad, your son has truly found a way this time!
Believe in me one more time!
Just this once!”
Another long silence fell over the other end of the line.
Then, Lu Dashan let out a low, brief chuckle.
The laugh was filled with complex emotions—sadness, helplessness—but in the end, it seemed to melt into a heavy, resigned sort of support.
“Alright, I’m getting old.
I don’t understand you young people’s new tricks.” Lu Dashan’s voice returned to its usual steady tone, even carrying a touch of mock-lighthearted teasing.
“You’ve always been strong-willed since you were a kid.
Once you set your mind on something, ten bulls couldn’t pull you back.
Since you say you’ve found your direction, then…
go ahead and give it your all.”
He paused, his voice softening, carrying a humble earnestness that Luke had never heard before.
“Your mom and I will do our best not to hold you back.
Don’t worry about the mortgage at home; I can still manage.
Take care of yourself out there, stay safe—that’s more important than anything.
When you have time…
call your mother more.
She won’t say it, but she worries about you every day.”
“Dad…”
Luke’s tears finally broke free, pouring down his face.
He bit his lip hard to keep from crying out, nodding fiercely even though his father couldn’t see him.
“I know, I know…
I’ll call Mom in a bit.
You guys…
you have to take care of your health.”
“Yeah,” Lu Dashan replied, seemingly at a loss for more words.
“Then…
let’s leave it at that for now.
Go back to your work.
Take care of yourself, and don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Okay, Dad.
Get some rest early too.”
After hanging up, Luke stood frozen in the middle of the room, clutching his phone.
His face was wet, a mixture of sweat and tears.
His father’s last few words pounded against his heart like a sledgehammer.
*We’ll do our best not to hold you back.*
He wiped his face with a hard swipe, rushed into the bathroom, turned on the tap, and splashed cold water aggressively onto his face.
The freezing water stung his wounds, bringing a sharp pain that helped cool his raging emotions.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror—his face was still a mess, but his eyes were beginning to change.
He could no longer hesitate.
He could no longer afford any weakness.
He pulled out his phone, found his mother’s number, and dialed.
This time, his voice was even steadier, carrying the busy, hopeful tone of a young entrepreneur that he deliberately put on.
He retold the “business story” he had given his father, making it sound even smoother and more reasonable, even adding a few fabricated details about “meeting clients” and “developing channels.”
His mother listened on the other end, repeatedly telling him to be safe, not to overwork himself, and to watch out for scammers.
Her voice was filled with an undeniable mix of pride and worry.
After hanging up with his mother, Luke leaned against the cold tiled wall and slowly slid to the floor.
The bathroom light was blindingly white.